Wednesday April 10th, 7:30 pm at Kaleideum North the Forsyth Astronomical Society will have its regularly scheduled monthly meeting. The program for the FAS April meeting will be given by club member Steve Childers, titled:

Johannes Kepler and the Intersection of Astronomy, Religion and Witchcraft.

The German astronomer Johannes Kepler is best known for discovering that the planets orbit the sun in elliptical paths, and confirming the Copernicus model of the solar system. But he did much more than that, establishing laws of motion that inspired Isaac Newton and discovering how telescope optics work. This talk will explore how Kepler accomplished all this in a life burdened by enormous personal tragedy, the upheaval of bloody religious wars, and charges of witchcraft.

Following the presentation portion, we will have a brief business/planning meeting and as always, there will be an informal social gathering 30 minutes or so before the meeting. Come early for the best choice of doughnuts.  All meetings are open to the public, free of charge and all are welcome. Hope to see you there.

A reminder to club members: It’s getting to be that time again, we are coming up on the May renewal for annual dues. You can pay them at any meeting, or by mail, between this month and May. Dues are now $35/year for the basic membership, $40/year for a dual vote membership and our student rate is still $5/year. For any one else interested in joining our organization, now is the prime time to do it. Also don’t forget to renew your Astronomical League membership as well if you participate in that group, $7.50 additional to your FAS membership. Don’t know about the Astronomical League ask our FAS AL correspondent, member Sean Wood.